Monday in CE: King of the Gimmicks Nintendo Doesn't Seem Interested in VR

Nintendo has historically taken big gambles on their gaming systems. Most recently, the last three or four consoles to come out have all been based around, for lack of a better word, gimmicks. And that word is used as a slight, as the track record has been pretty good for Nintendo. Yes, the Wii U suffered for not being different enough but it did paint a picture of what Nintendo loyalists want. They want gimmicks.

The Nissan Xmotion may look like an SUV on the surface, but to take a step inside is to enter a dense forest of technology. The concept car, revealed today at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, has a total of seven digital touchscreens inside, making it one of the more aggressive attempts by an automaker in recent memory to sweep aside the manual controls of the past and fully embrace a pixelated future.

Is it overkill? Sure. We’re already hearing complaints about the Tesla Model 3’s hyper-minimal all-in-one touchscreen approach to the traditional instrument cluster. It’s not clear that what consumers want in their cars is more screens. But you have to hand it to Nissan for not shying away from this trend.

The Xmotion (which is pronounced “cross-motion”) has three main displays, as well as left- and right-end displays that span the width of the instrument panel. On the ceiling is a “digital room mirror” (in place of a rearview mirror) and a center console display. There’s also a lot of wood trim, which seems like an attempt to offset the harsh futuristic glare of the digital surfaces.

It’s interesting that Nissan chose to unveil the Xmotion in Detroit and not at CES in Las Vegas, where these types of pulsing, untraditional concepts are typically displayed. Maybe it’s meant to signal the Japanese auto giant’s seriousness in bringing it to production? Probably not. According to a spokesperson, “this concept car is a design study only.” Oh well, we’re still excited to hear more about Nissan’s vision for this vehicle.